On June 8, the “Five‑Color Lianxiang: Luzhi Soars” National Lianxiang Dance Invitational Competition was solemnly held at the Jiangnan Cultural Park in Luzhi Town. The event was supported by the China Dancers Association and hosted by the Jiangsu Provincial Dancers Association, the Suzhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Wuzhong District Bureau of Culture and Sports, and the People’s Government of Luzhi Town, with co‑organization by the Suzhou Dancers Association and the Luzhi Town Center for Culture and Sports. Attending the ceremony were Luo Bin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group, Secretary-General, and doctoral supervisor of the China Dancers Association; Zheng Zeyun, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Secretary of the Secretariat of the Jiangsu Federation of Literary and Art Circles; Guan Tiantao, Deputy Director of the Social and Cultural Division of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture; Hu Chuntian, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Jiangsu Provincial Dancers Association; Cheng Congwu, Chairman and Party Secretary of the Suzhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles; Xing Jing, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairman of the Suzhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles; Jie Ye, Deputy Director of the Social and Cultural Division of the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism; as well as Le Jiang, Member of the Standing Committee of the Wuzhong District Party Committee and Head of the Publicity Department; Tang Zhengrong, Director of the Wuzhong District Bureau of Culture and Sports; Wu Jingyu, Party Secretary of Luzhi Town; and Gu Hongjian, Town Mayor—alongside leaders from the Suzhou Dancers Association and sister provincial and municipal associations, 14 competing teams representing various ethnic groups from across the country, 36 amateur Lianxiang troupes from Luzhi Town, and approximately 600 members of the press and media. The opening ceremony was presided over by Chen Julin, Member of the Luzhi Town Party Committee and Deputy Town Mayor. Luzhi Town Mayor Gu Hongjian delivered a welcome address, while Luo Bin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group, Secretary-General, and doctoral supervisor of the China Dancers Association, gave a speech and officially declared the invitational competition open.

Lianxiang dance boasts a long history and is a traditional dance cherished by many ethnic groups across China. In some regions, it has been designated as an intangible cultural heritage at the provincial or municipal level. This competition brought together 14 teams from ten provinces and municipalities—Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shandong, Shaanxi, Jilin, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Heilongjiang. Prior to the opening, 36 amateur Lianxiang dance troupes from villages and communities throughout Luzhi Town were scattered throughout the Jiangnan Cultural Park, showcasing self‑created Lianxiang dances. During the event, the 14 competing teams donned a variety of traditional costumes, performing with Lianxiang sticks and vividly highlighting the captivating charm of Lianxiang culture from different locales and ethnic groups. On the morning of the event, Luo Bin, deputy secretary of the Party Leadership Group, secretary-general, and doctoral supervisor of the China Dancers Association, also delivered a special lecture titled “The Academic Trajectory of Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance.”

The Luzhi Lianxiang Dance, steeped in the charm of Jiangnan’s water towns, boasts a distinctive character. The Luzhi Water Town Women’s Costume was among the first batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage items, and the Luzhi Lianxiang Dance was inscribed on Suzhou’s municipal list of representative intangible cultural heritage in 2011. In recent years, Luzhi Town has placed great emphasis on safeguarding and promoting its indigenous folk traditions; since 2000, it has seamlessly blended the art of “da lianxiang” with the cultural essence of the Luzhi Water Town Women’s Costume, giving rise to the “Luzhi Water Town Lianxiang Dance.” Beginning in 2005, the town has annually hosted performances and competitions showcasing the Luzhi Water Town Women’s Costume culture. In 2011, the Suzhou Luzhi Water Town Culture and Arts Troupe was established, producing an array of outstanding programs, including “A Journey Through Luzhi Water Town,” “Luzhi Lianxiang Gains Wide Acclaim,” and “Luzhi Maidens Delight in Harvesting Water Chestnuts.” Since 2006, the Luzhi Lianxiang Dance has been invited to Beijing five times, gracing the stage of China Central Television, and has also been featured at public‑square cultural events such as the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo. Moreover, it has ventured beyond China’s borders, performing in Germany and other locales, successfully presenting Jiangnan folk song and dance rooted in the Luzhi Water Town Women’s Costume tradition and vividly highlighting the unique allure of Wu‑region folk culture. Today, the sight of Luzhi women in traditional attire rhythmically wielding their lianxiang sticks has become a signature cultural hallmark of Luzhi.

This time, Luzhi Town warmly invites people of all ethnic groups to gather in the “First Water Town of China,” with the aim of jointly celebrating the art of Lianxiang, further enriching and enlivening the spiritual and cultural lives of the general public, promoting the distinctive cultural heritage of Luzhi Lianxiang, fostering exchanges and cooperation among Lianxiang traditions across regions and ethnicities nationwide, and working together to inherit, safeguard, and develop this intangible cultural heritage.